The Mets have announced that they will activate Mike Baxter from the disabled list tomorrow and option Kirk Nieuwenhuis to Triple-A Buffalo to make room for him.
This is the right move for the team as K-New has been completely overmatched at the plate after getting off to a hot start when the Mets called him up in April to replace an injured Adnres Torres.
Kirk was hitting .252 with seven homers and 28 RBIs in 282 at-bats, but had a team-high 98 strikeouts. Nieuwenhuis was only 9-for-his-last-73. His demotion comes just a week after the Mets demoted right fielder Lucas Duda to the Bisons.
Baxter has fully recovered from his shoulder and rib injuries and has been performing well during his rehab assignment in the minors. Baxter’s return could signal the end of Jason Bay as the everyday left fielder and we could see Baxter in a straight platoon with Bay riding the pine against right-handed pitching.
Whitestone Mike injured himself when he made an incredible catch and crashed into the wall to preserve Johan Santana’s no-hitter on June 1st. At the time, Baxter was batting .323 with a .915 OPS in 74 plate appearances.
Hopefully the addition of Baxter will add some spark to the offense and lift the team’s spirits which has visibly gotten bad in the past 7-10 days.
